BASEBALL:

Stung by a couple lopsided defeats and frustrated by soggy weather and an opponent cancellation in early April, the Coast Union baseball team got back on the field and back on track last week nipping Shandon 7-5 on Tuesday, April 20, at Shandon and hammering Valley Christian Academy 17-5 on Wednesday, April 21, in Santa Maria.

With positive results under their belts, the 6-8 Broncos were anxiously looking forward to entertaining Valley Christian Academy Tuesday, April 27, to keep their modest two-game winning streak alive and to bring their record closer to .500 prior to playing Mission Prep today, April 29.

But wait—Mother Nature refused to cooperate Tuesday; the heavens unloaded a steady light rain and once again frustration had the winning hand. The Valley Christian players showed up and both teams stood around in the field debating if they should try.

But wet fields have a history of opening the door to injuries, so good judgment prevailed. Speaking of injuries, Broncos’ first baseman Alex Wolf suffered a fractured wrist against Valley Christian last week and is out for the season.

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Leading the Broncos in hitting thus far in the season (through April 26) is senior Jake Machado with a sturdy .417 average, two home runs, four doubles, and 10 runs batted in. Close behind Machado is senior Jaime Torres (.387) who has collected four doubles and has knocked in nine runs.

Wolf (junior) and Ryan Hampton (senior) are both hitting .333; Wolf has a home run, two doubles and four RBIs, while Hampton has driven in five runs.

Coach Brian Machado has used five pitchers thus far this season: Garrett Le Millere, Trevor Cook, Andy Gordon, Jake Machado and Jaime Torres. Heading into this week Gordon (sophomore) was leading the staff with a 2-1 record.

Today, Coast Union hosts Mission Prep at 3:30 p.m. And Friday, April 30, the Broncos entertain Maricopa at 3:30 on the Coast Union campus. Both games air live on KTEA-FM (103.5) and stream on www.ktea-fm.com.